South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Broadway musicals slated for upcoming season focus on Michael Jackson, Cher, Neil Diamond
Some of Broadway’s hottest tickets are coming to South Florida.
Musicals such as “The Cher Show,” “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” and “MJ The Musical” (Michael Jackson) are part of the 2024-2025 seasons announced by Broadway Across America, the national touring company best known by South Floridians for bringing big-name stage musicals to both performing arts centers in Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
Fans of the Great White Way will also want to know the run dates of buzzy B’way productions such as “Shucked” and “Some Like It Hot.”
As of now, individual tickets are not available, but you can purchase season subscriptions for either venue.
By the way, the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach is expected to announce its upcoming season in April.
BROWARD CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS IN FORT LAUDERDALE
The six-show package ranges in price from $279 to $1,075 and includes five musicals and one subscriber choice.
For more information or to purchase a season package, visit broadwayinfortlauderdale.com or call 954-462-0222.
Nov. 19-24, 2024 — ‘The Cher Show’ (Subscriber Choice)
It takes three women to equal one Cher. That’s right, three actors play the star at different stages of her glittery life, so this is truly a Cher and Cher-alike show. Thirty-five tunes from the Oscar-winning actor/pop music goddess’s songbook are in this jukebox musical. “The Cher Show” opened on Broadway in December 2018 and closed in August 2019, the same year the Tonys awarded costumer Bob Mackie and lead Stephanie J. Block.
Dec. 18-23, 2024 — ‘Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical’ (Subscriber Choice)
We all know the children’s book, the holiday animated TV special and the Jim Carrey feature film, all three of which follow the tale of the green meanie and the town folk of Whoville. The hit songs from the TV movie — “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch” and “Welcome Christmas” — are added to a new score from Timothy Mason and Mel Marvin.
Jan. 21-Feb. 2, 2025 — ‘A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical’
The jukebox musical strings along Neil Diamond’s chart-topping songbook to tell the story of the singer/composer’s journey from Brooklyn boy to iconic hitmaker. Along the way, you get top tunes such as “America,” “Forever in Blue Jeans” and “Sweet Caroline.”
March 6-30, 2025 — Disney’s ‘The Lion King’
The family-friendly stage show is based on the 1994 animated movie and features a score by Elton John and Tim Rice with hits
such as “Circle of Life,” “Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” The musical is the most successful Broadway show of all time, raking in more than $1 billion. The original production in 1997 won six Tony Awards. The show is famous for its use of masks and puppetry to bring to life a coming-of-age parable set among the animals of the African savanna.
April 8-20, 2025 — ‘MJ the Musical’
This jukebox musical about the King of Pop won four Tony Awards after Broadway previews in December 2021 and a grand opening in February 2022, going on to be a box-office juggernaut. The show is centered around the Motown Moonwalker preparing for his Dangerous World Tour in 1992 and shines a spotlight on 26 of his signature hits, stretching from his early Jackson 5 days (and cinematic turn in “The Wiz”) to global superstardom with his solo albums. You’ll get toe-tappers such as “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” “Thriller,” “Bad,” “The Love You Save,” “ABC,” “I Want You Back” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.”
May 6-18, 2025 — ‘Peter Pan’
This is a new adaption of the musical we all remember about the boy who refuses to grow up. For this staging, American Indian playwright Larissa FastHorse has sprinkled her own brand of pixie dust on the show’s book, especially with the depiction of indigenous people. But the classic songs remain, tunes such as “I’m Flying,” “I Won’t Grow Up” and “Never Never Land.”
June 10-22, 2025 — ‘Shucked’ How many a-maize-ing corn puns can one musical have? Enough to harvest boffo box-office after bowing on Broadway in 2023, that’s how many for this fable about the good people of Cobb County getting conned by an outsider when they try to save their corn crops. The book is by Tony Award-winner Robert Horn (“Tootsie”), with music from the Grammy Award-winning duo Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally.
ARSHT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS IN MIAMI
The six-show package ranges in price from $230 to $910.
For more information or to purchase a season package, visit arshtcenter.org or call 800-9398587 or 305-949-6722.
Dec. 3-8, 2024 — ‘Some Like It
Hot’
Yup, the 1959 movie comedy with Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis is now a stage musical. Some of the plot points are different, but the basic storyline follows jazz musicians during the Prohibition era donning drag to avoid getting wasted by mobsters after they witness a hit. The show opened on the Great White Way in 2022 and went on to win four Tony Awards.
Jan. 14-19, 2025 — ‘Tina – The Tina Turner Musical’
This jukebox musical shows you why music icon Tina Turner has 12 Grammys and gives a little Broadway razzle-dazzle to her hits such as “Proud Mary,” “Nutbush City Limits,” “River Deep, Mountain High,” “Better Be Good To Me,” “Private Dancer” and “What’s Love Got To Do With It?”
Feb. 18-23, 2025 — ‘Mamma Mia’
The chart-toppers of ABBA are front and center in this jukebox musical set on a sun-drenched Mediterranean resort island where the upcoming nuptials of a young couple set off a family farce. The score includes hits such as “Dancing Queen,” “Super Trouper,” “Lay All Your Love on Me,” “SOS,” “The Winner Takes It All” and “Take a Chance on Me.”
March 18-23, 2025 — ‘MJ the Musical’
Before appearing in Fort Lauderdale, this four-time Tony Award-winning jukebox musical about the King of Pop will stop in Miami, bringing the hits mentioned above as well as “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” “Man in the Mirror” and “Smooth Criminal.”
April 29-May 4, 2025 — ‘Beetlejuice’
This Broadway-tized version of director Tim Burton’s hit 1988 movie is essentially the same story: A ghost couple try to rid their home of obnoxious new inhabitants by being spooky. When that fails, they enlist the far more experienced Beetlejuice for a little horror-help. The cast album sold well, featuring the score by Aussie multi-hyphenate Eddie Perfect.
June 17-22, 2025 — ‘Chicago’
Long before reality TV made being famous for being famous a thing, the talent triumvirate of Bob Fosse, John Kander and Fred Ebb came up with this glitzy-yetgrimy tale of fame, fortune and all that jazz. The now-standards from the score include “All That Jazz,” of course, as well as “Cell Block Tango,” “When You’re Good to Mama,” “Mr. Cellophane” and “Razzle Dazzle.”
AND IF YOU JUST CAN’T WAIT THAT LONG TO SEE A BROADWAY SHOW …
As the current 2023-2024 Broadway season of national tours wraps up here in SoFlo, you can still catch some highly touted shows.
March 5-17, 2024 — ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’Broward
Center, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; $45-$196 tickets;
954-462-0222; browardcenter.org
March 12-17, 2024 — ‘Tina – The Tina Turner Musical’Kravis Center for the Performing Arts,
701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; $45-$125 tickets; 561-8327469; kravis.org
March 13-24, 2024 — ‘Hamilton’
Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; $39-$229 tickets; 305-9496722; arshtcenter.org
April 9-21, 2024 — ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Broward Center, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; $45-$176 tickets; 954-462-0222; browardcenter.org
April 11-13, 2024 — ‘On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan’ Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, 1 Seminole Way; $65-$155 tickets; 954-797-5531; myhrl.com